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Tasty Transport
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By Maggie Rhynes
IV Leader Staff
A total of 132 students, organized into 41 teams,
participated in the Edible Car Contest on March 1. The event was held in
conjunction with Engineering Week and encouraged students to build a working car
complete with at least two axles and three wheels. The challenge was the car had
to be 100 percent edible.
The 41 entries ranged in materials from loaves of bread, to
ice cream, to various fruits and vegetables. Each team took their car for a spin
in the time trials to determine winners in the category of speed.
Each team placed their creation on a three-foot-long ramp and
watched as their car either raced to the finish line or fell to pieces some
where along the way.
There was a clear advantage to those who raced their cars
earliest, as obstacles covered the track later in the race, mostly in the form
of frosting blobs, cheese chunks and vegetable droppings.
Following the time trials, entries were judged on a variety
of criteria and prizes were awarded in five categories for aerodynamics, design,
speed, creativity and detail.
Ashley Dessing and Christina Musgrove paired up for the
competition inspired by extra credit in math class. “We made our car mostly out
of sweets: cookies, marshmallows, frosting and graham crackers,” said Dessing.
“We figured that we would make a lot of mistakes in the process of building, and
this way it would at least taste good.”
The car took home awards in both the creativity and design
categories.
“We ended up having a great time,” Dessing said, “We thought
the entire event was a success and everyone seemed to have a good time.”
Dorene Perez, one of the events organizers, was also pleased
with the results of the event, which drew a large crowd of spectators to the
lobby.
Perez noted that over half the participants were women. She
said engineering groups as well as the National Science Foundation (which
provided a grant that helped fund part the event) are working hard to encourage
women to join the field of engineering. This led to the rule that at least one
team member in each group had to be female.
“It was exciting to see women deciding to participate in the
competition because they realized they could be creative,”said Perez. “We want
young women and young men to see that engineering can be fun.”
The winners were provided with a little extra fun in the form
of Olympic size chocolate medals, chocolate NASCAR models and trophy cups full
of chocolate. The Dental Assisting Program provided damage control and passed
out dental kits to the winners.
The top finishers were:
AERODYNAMICS
#2 - The Flying Bear
Engineers: Audrey Hoadley, Jamie Meyer, Vera Adams, Angie Carrington
DESIGN
#9 - Sweet Dreams
Engineers: John Pearson, Ken Decker, Jim Hall, Sabrina Ory
SPEED
#18 - Incredible Edibles
Engineers: Noah Roberts, Andy Threadgil, Travis Freise, Carlie Newton
CREATIVITY
#24 - no team name
Engineers: Jake Hendruz, Ross Brender, Ashley Mary Renny, Josh Luckey, Mike West
DETAIL
#24 - no team name
Engineers: Jake Hendruz, Ross Brender, Ashley Mary Renny, Josh Luckey, Mike West
HEALTHIEST
Tie - #38 - The Yellow Submarine
Engineers: Christine Moore, Emily Skolek, Harriet Lapa,
Marisol Reyes
Tie - #21- Healthy Riders
Engineers: Ryan Krewer, Alyssa Mooneyham, Jenna Hassler, Kathy Reed, Doug Swaraz
MOST COLORFUL
#21 – Healthy Riders
Engineers: Ryan Krewer, Alyssa Mooneyham, Jenna Hassler, Kathy Reed, Doug Swaraz
MOST LIKELY TO CLOG ARTERIES
#7 MIMIC Roadracers
Engineers: Janice Lupori, David Dodge, Cigi Sunken
LEAST LIKELY TO GET A DATE
#32 – Team Judge
Engineers: Andrew Ebener, Reid Baltikauski, Katie Judge
SCARIEST
#15 - Team Slapstick
Engineers: Lisa Eisert, Aaron Tondi, Doug Alleman